Half grade PSA cards

[beyondfantasy]

Hi all, new here. Great information, been a collector since base set and really great to see such a community around our favorite hobby.

My question is about half graded PSA cards, I interested in buying a Shadowless base Aalakazam at a 8.5, clearly the 9’s and 10’s are desirable and honestly I would prefer a solid 8. Do you think there is much call for collectors interested in having a collection of half graded cards? would it be best to get it regraded? Does having half grades make them more desirable for collectors as the POP is only 3.

Thanks for any advise.

[budget]

With a card like Shadowless Alakazam I’d crack and regrade unless it’s kind of obvious it won’t grade a 9, need to see pics of it though.

[pfm]

8.5 is such an inconsistent grade it’s nearly a joke. My experience is most people like to collect a straight set of homogeneous grades (all 10’s, all 9’s, 8’s) so there’s no one really actively hunting 8.5’s since they are pretty hard to find.

If you just want a single card or don’t care about heterogeneity in a set, you can probably find some 8.5’s that go cheaper than 8s. I wouldn’t be surprised of most people buying 8.5’s were only doing so with the hope of regrading to 9.

[beyondfantasy]

@pfm

8.5 is such an inconsistent grade it’s nearly a joke. My experience is most people like to collect a straight set of homogeneous grades (all 10’s, all 9’s, 8’s) so there’s no one really actively hunting 8.5’s since they are pretty hard to find.

If you just want a single card or don’t care about heterogeneity in a set, you can probably find some 8.5’s that go cheaper than 8s. I wouldn’t be surprised of most people buying 8.5’s were only doing so with the hope of regrading to 9.

Thanks for your input, I agree with you that collectors will want sets of 8’s, 9’s, 10’s. The price is fair so I may just buy for regrade.

[pfm]

@beyondfantasy

@pfm

8.5 is such an inconsistent grade it’s nearly a joke. My experience is most people like to collect a straight set of homogeneous grades (all 10’s, all 9’s, 8’s) so there’s no one really actively hunting 8.5’s since they are pretty hard to find.

If you just want a single card or don’t care about heterogeneity in a set, you can probably find some 8.5’s that go cheaper than 8s. I wouldn’t be surprised of most people buying 8.5’s were only doing so with the hope of regrading to 9.

Thanks for your input, I agree with you that collectors will want sets of 8’s, 9’s, 10’s. The price is fair so I may just buy for regrade.

I would pay no more than what a PSA 8 costs plus regrading fee, personally.

[null_user]

I’m probably in the minority here, but I like half grades. For one reason or another, the grader thought the card fell in between 2 grades and was not comfortable going high or low, so they went in the middle.

It’s a lot harder to get a .5 grade too, so I consider that to be a little more desirable. It’s sort of like the OC qualifier - they don’t hand them out often but when they do there is probably a good reason.

I only have one .5 grade. That is a 1st Edition Base Dragonair (PSA 7.5). I actually value this card over the identical card I own in a 9 grade. Why? That 7.5 has a population of 1. Literally the only one in existence which is pretty crazy for 1st edition base. The 9 has a population of 267.

[beyondfantasy]

@null_user

I’m probably in the minority here, but I like half grades. For one reason or another, the grader thought the card fell in between 2 grades and was not comfortable going high or low, so they went in the middle.

It’s a lot harder to get a .5 grade too, so I consider that to be a little more desirable. It’s sort of like the OC qualifier - they don’t hand them out often but when they do there is probably a good reason.

I only have one .5 grade. That is a 1st Edition Base Dragonair (PSA 7.5). I actually value this card over the identical card I own in a 9 grade. Why? That 7.5 has a population of 1. Literally the only one in existence which is pretty crazy for 1st edition base. The 9 has a population of 267.

Thanks for your reply, I do wonder about POP reports, the POP for this card at 8.5 is 3. Which is really low and a lot of people, from what I have read on here think that does not play a part in the value but I tend to feel it does, it makes them rare as an example of your card.

Even Smpratte said in one video I watched recently that POP can affect the value of a card, but I know others disagree. I think it was an older video mind.

Thanks.

[pikazardcollector]

I find that that the 8.5 to be a very fun grade and I know a few that hunt them down because they are rare. While I wouldn’t prefer one over a 9 or 10 of course I still think its a nice grade. I don’t collect 8’s but a an 8.5 I might consider if it were a card I really liked just for the cool factor and low pop. Also the hunt for 8.5’s are always a challenge which is something collectors enjoy

[gottaketchumall]

I’ve cracked and regraded dozens of 8.5’s. I wrote a quick article about it. It is an abomination of a grade. None of the cards that I cracked and regraded earned a 8.5 the second time around.

www.elitefourum.com/t/psa-8-5-grading-anomaly-december-2016-january-2017/18738/1

More background if you care for a longer read. Basically there was a short stint where PSA was handing out 8.5’s at a historical rate in late 2016 to early 2017. Every PSA 8.5 that went back on the second time around achieved an 8 9 or 10. I’ve regraded more since but haven’t kept great data. Most have gone to 9’s the second time around and I have still yet to have an 8.5 crack and regrade back to an 8.5.